After Ealy said he was running against Cordray, Grossmann wished him luck.

“I would say this. I would vote for you over Richard Cordray anytime,” Young added before the meeting was adjourned.

In 2014, Ealy and running mate Ken Gray of Cincinnati received 17,197 votes — 17 percent of those cast statewide — in the Democratic primary against former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald and Sharen Schwartz Neuhardt of Yellow Springs. FitzGerald won the primary with 83 percent of the vote but lost the general election to Ohio Gov. John Kasich.